Monrovia – The Supreme Courtroom of Liberia has ordered the speedy reinstatement of Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan as Director Normal of the Nationwide Public Well being Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), ruling that his removing by the Government Department was unconstitutional and violated statutory due-process protections.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
The choice marks a dramatic judicial rebuke of the Boakai administration, highlighting the constitutional limits on the president’s authority to take away tenured public officers. It additionally underscores the judiciary’s dedication to upholding due course of and defending institutional independence in Liberia’s public well being sector.
Background: A Controversial Termination
Dr. Nyan, a skilled epidemiologist with in depth expertise in infectious illness management, was appointed Director Normal of NPHIL in 2024. Below his management, the institute performed a central position in Liberia’s responses to the Mpox outbreak and subsequent public well being emergencies, incomes worldwide recognition for its strong interventions.
In September 2025, Dr. Nyan was abruptly sacked by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai following a decision from the NPHIL Board recommending his removing for “gross inefficiency” and acts “undesirable to public curiosity.” The Board cited alleged administration failures however offered no documented investigation to substantiate its claims. Dr. Nyan challenged the termination, arguing that it violated each statutory and constitutional protections.
The Board emphasised that its selections have been guided by the necessity to restore effectivity, accountability, and good governance throughout the NPHIL.
In response to the decision, Dr. Nyan’s tenure as head of the nation’s lead public well being establishment was marked by a litany of administrative and managerial failures. The Board accused the Director Normal of persistently bypassing statutory oversight, working with out transparency, and making unilateral selections that undermined the governance construction of the Institute.
Particularly, the Board said that Dr. Nyan repeatedly did not contain the Board in important decision-making processes regarding NPHIL’s operations. There was an ongoing lack of coordination and collaboration between NPHIL and the Ministry of Well being.
The Board additionally cited non-adherence to its statutory position because the governing authority of the Institute and famous that Dr. Nyan made quite a few international journeys with out informing both the Board or any appearing Director Normal throughout his absence.
The decision additional indicated that Dr. Nyan despatched official communications to each the President of Liberia and the Nationwide Legislature with out the data or enter of the Board. Companions additionally raised considerations about his management and conduct. The Board famous that the institutional price range was submitted with out their approval and institutional affairs have been usually mentioned within the media with out their authorization. These points, the Board stated, signify critical governance failures.
In February 2025, the Board had beforehand suspended Dr. Nyan and requested a written apology as a result of a separate set of considerations involving media engagements that have been deemed inappropriate. Nevertheless, the identical behaviors continued all through his suspension and afterward, main the Board to name for his removing, in keeping with the Board.
Within the official decision, the Board said that “the Director Normal is hereby really useful for removing efficient instantly for violating Part 4.4 sub c (i), ‘discovered to be grossly inefficient’, and (vi), ‘engages in acts which might be undesirable to public curiosity and undermine rules of excellent governance’, of the NPHIL Act 2016.” The Board’s decision additionally referred to as for Dr. Sia Wata Camanor, the Co-Chair of the Board, to function Interim Director Normal to stabilize the establishment and lead operations in collaboration with the Ministry of Well being, different authorities businesses, and worldwide companions till a brand new Director Normal is recruited and appointed by the President. The President granted the Board’s request and appointed Dr. Camanor as appearing Director Normal, a place she stills occupies.
By his authorized staff, led by Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe and Cllr. Kabineh Ja’neh of Gongloe & Associates Legislation Agency, Dr. Nyan contends that his removing violated the NPHIL Act of 2016, which offers for a set five-year tenure for the Director Normal.
His attorneys argue that no lawful investigation was performed and no findings of wrongdoing have been offered to justify his dismissal.
The petition additional asserts that the President’s motion contravened procedural safeguards and constitutes grounds for prohibition, citing precedent together with Yealue versus the Government Department.
No Investigation, No Due Course of
In a decisive ruling delivered Monday by Affiliate Justice in Chambers, Her Honor Jamestta Howard Wolokolie, the Courtroom held that Dr. Nyan’s dismissal lacked authorized and procedural foundation.
Citing Part 4.4(c) of the NPHIL Act of 2016—which outlines particular grounds for removing, together with corruption, gross inefficiency, and acts undermining good governance—the Courtroom emphasised that any allegations have to be established by a proper investigation in line with due course of.
“The phrase ‘investigation’ doesn’t seem wherever among the many vocabularies used within the decision,” the ruling emphasised. Authorities attorneys had argued that administrative due course of had been afforded, however they failed to supply proof of a subsequent investigation justifying the dismissal.
The Courtroom additionally rejected reliance on a February 2025 inquiry report that had beforehand led to Dr. Nyan’s one-month suspension with out pay, noting that utilizing the identical findings to justify termination amounted to punishing him twice for a similar conduct.
Though the Board’s decision claims that Dr. Nyan was suspended for one month, there isn’t any document to substantiate that assertion. In truth, he maintained steady employment till his wrongful termination by the President final 12 months.
Proper to Be Heard Ignored
Central to the Courtroom’s choice was the constitutional proper to due course of below Article 20(a) of the 1986 Structure of Liberia. Dr. Nyan was reportedly given solely 48 hours to reply to the Board’s allegations and was dismissed the identical day he submitted an in depth rebuttal.
Justice Wolokolie cited the Courtroom’s March Time period 2024 opinion in Yealue et al. v. Government Department of Authorities, reaffirming that tenured officers can’t be eliminated with out investigation and a correct listening to. “Due course of,” the Courtroom reiterated, “is a regulation which hears earlier than it condemns.”
Contractual Safety of Tenure
The Courtroom additionally highlighted the contractual nature of tenured public appointments below Article 25 of the Structure. By eradicating Dr. Nyan earlier than the expiration of his five-year time period with out confirmed trigger, the federal government stays accountable for compensation or reinstatement.
“The place an official is eliminated… for causes apart from confirmed trigger, the state stays accountable for the advantages and emoluments that will have accrued,” the ruling declared.
Order of the Courtroom
The Supreme Courtroom due to this fact affirmed the choice writ of prohibition; granted the peremptory writ; ordered Dr. Nyan’s reinstatement as Director Normal of NPHIL; alternatively, directed the federal government to pay him full compensation as if he had served out his tenure.
The Clerk of Courtroom has been instructed to inform the events accordingly.
The ruling reinforces constitutional safeguards for tenured officers, strengthens institutional integrity in Liberia’s public well being sector, and units a transparent precedent limiting govt overreach.
“And it’s hereby so ordered.”
Who’s Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan?
Dr. Nyan is a well known Liberian medical physician, biomedical analysis scientist, social activist, and inventor. He holds a medical diploma from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, affiliated with the Humboldt College of Berlin in Germany.
He has labored on the US Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the College of Pennsylvania Faculty of Medication, specializing in infectious illnesses and public well being diagnostics. In the course of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, Dr. Nyan testified earlier than the US Congress, providing a public well being roadmap and advocating for the institution of the Africa Facilities for Illness Management and the strengthening of nationwide public well being methods throughout the continent.
He’s greatest recognized for inventing a US-patented diagnostic gadget often called the “Nyan-Check”, a speedy multiplex diagnostic instrument able to detecting and figuring out a number of pathogens reminiscent of Malaria, HIV, COVID-19, Ebola, and Hepatitis in below an hour. His innovation earned him the 2017 African Innovation Particular Prize for Social Influence.
Authorized implications
Authorized analysts say the Supreme Courtroom’s ruling is a serious setback for the Boakai administration, sharply limiting its energy to take away tenured officers with out correct investigation and due course of. Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan is legally entitled to speedy reinstatement as NPHIL Director Normal—or full compensation for the rest of his time period—vindicating his claims of wrongful dismissal.
Past restoring Dr. Nyan’s place, the choice reinforces constitutional safeguards, underscores the judiciary’s position in checking govt overreach, and sends a transparent message that procedural lapses in public workplace carry critical authorized and political penalties.
